bluehair
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editThe "elderly person" sense, first documented in the 1980s, refers to the blue rinse once used by older women to conceal grey hair.[1]
The second sense emerged from the stereotypical association of dyed blue hair with social-justice activists.[2][3]
Pronunciation
editAudio (General Australian): (file)
Noun
editbluehair (plural bluehairs)
- (slang, derogatory or humorous) An elderly person, especially a woman or one viewed as senile, old-fashioned, or out of touch. [since 1980s]
- 1997, Karin Vonesh, "Who are the worst drivers of all?", Southwords (Maine South High School, Park Ridge, IL), Volume 34, Issue 7, 19 December 1997, page 3:
- I have memories from a young age in which my father is yelling about "blue hairs" and their inability to drive. And everyone remembers that scene in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" in which the old lady cannot see over the steering wheel and is swerving down the road.
- 2011, Lola Newmar, Devlin's Beast, page 33:
- He'd recently swiped the little orange bottle of OxyContin from the old hag he often watched on Tuesday nights when her cold, indifferent middle-aged daughter played bingo with the other bluehairs from the strip-mall salon she frequented.
- 2019, Chris O'Neill, quoted in Jordan Bradley, "Do Something Different: Try These Alternative Recreation Options", Encore (Michigan), June 2019, page 25:
- “Anyone can join,” O'Neill says. “We have age ranges from children to blue hairs.”
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:bluehair.
- Synonyms: fogey, fossil, fuddy-duddy, geezer, old-timer
- 1997, Karin Vonesh, "Who are the worst drivers of all?", Southwords (Maine South High School, Park Ridge, IL), Volume 34, Issue 7, 19 December 1997, page 3:
- (slang, derogatory) A young or naive supporter of social-justice causes. [since 2010s]
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:bluehair.
- Synonyms: social justice warrior, wokester
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Jonathan Green, Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, page 140
- ^ Miles Klee, "Blue Hair Is A Liberal Trait, According to Triggered Republicans", Mel Magazine, 16 May 2022
- ^ Emma Grey Ellis, "My Life as a Blue-Haired 'Commie Bitch' in Portland", Wired, 3 November 2020